Sticky five-spice pork belly with ginger & plums

• pork belly slices↗900g-1kg 900g-1kg
• ginger↗thumb-sized piece of thumb-sized piece of

  finely grated

• garlic cloves↗3 3

  grated or crushed

• Chinese five-spice powder1½ tsp 1½ tsp
• soy sauce↗50ml 50ml
• honey↗2 tbsp 2 tbsp
• light brown soft sugar↗2 tbsp 2 tbsp
• Shaohsing rice wine↗2 tbsp 2 tbsp

  rice wine vinegar or dry sherry

• star anise2 2
• plums↗6 6

  halved and stoned

• spring onions↗6 6

  cut into 3cm pieces

• coriander leaves↗

  to serve

• cooked rice↗

  and stir-fried greens, to serve

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Lay the pork belly slices in a single layer in a large roasting tin. Combine the ginger, garlic, five-spice powder, soy sauce, honey, sugar and rice wine, and pour the mixture over the pork, turning the pieces until well-coated. Scatter in the star anise, then cover the tin with foil and roast for 1 hr.

2. 2

   Remove the foil, scatter over the spring onions and nestle the plums in the tin, cut-side up. Spoon some of the sauce over the pork, onions and plums, and return to the oven for 30 mins.

3. 3

   Remove the tin from the oven. Turn the pork slices over using tongs. If the spring onions are starting to catch, push them under the pork slices. Turn the heat up to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and roast for another 15 mins, or until the pork is tender and caramelised – don’t worry if it chars slightly, as this will add flavour. Scatter over the coriander leaves and serve with rice and stir-fried greens, with the sauce from the tin spooned over.